An update...
Today was Messiah's annual Service Day. There are no classes, and students are encouraged to join an on- or off-campus service project. I helped out with the Special Olympics, hosted here at Messiah. I was "buddied" with a little boy named Byron. He was a bundle of energy and a lot of fun to be with all day. His parents were around too and were incredibly nice. If I get a chance, I'd love to write more.
Tonight is also the opening night for the Messiah Spring Musical, The Spitfire Grill. I am playing acoustic guitar in the pit band. We've had three dress rehearsals this week and there are six performances ahead, every day until Tuesday.
The day after our closing performance is the night of the Men's Ensemble concert. This afternoon will be our last practice, right before my call time for the show at 7.
Going in the other direction, Friday night was the Relay for Life here at Messiah. It was 12 hours (7 pm - 7 am) of walking and deteriorating coherency. By morning, even the notion of breakfast got us into furious fits of giggles. Thank you so much to all of you that donated. I raised over $100 dollars!
Saturday night The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was playing on campus. It was a vast departure from F. Scott Fitzgerald's original short story of the same title. A highly romanticized tale as much about the emergence and decline of Brad's beauty as the tragic story of a man utterly alone, it definitely worked wonders on me. Cate Blanchett is amazing.
Classes are going well. I was really busy with schoolwork the past two weeks, but this week, finally, is not too bad.
What I have been missing, however, is sleep. I'm practically dozing at the screen right now, so I'm going to hop in bed and have a quick nap before my busy evening. Opening night, here we come!
Thanks for reading. Sorry for the irregularity.
jmb
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Showers...
I used to think that April showers brought May flowers. Then I moved to Central Pennsylvania. Here, showers and flowers appear simultaneously. What do you know!?
Anyways, the rain is pattering on the window, birds are chirping gleefully, and some malfunctioning alarm is screaming across the parking lot. I'm writing, in part, to give myself a break from the unfortunate amount of schoolwork I've been subjected to this week. I was about to write a post on Sunday, but I made a list of upcoming assignments/tests instead. As the list grew longer, the Sunday blog faded further into oblivion. Since then I've been chiseling away at the list little-by-little, and I finally have a moment to relax a little.
If your interested in seeing the fruits of my labour, check this out. I've been working on this website for the past few weeks, but it was due on Tuesday.
Music In Toronto -- A Website Designed by Josh Boden
Modest, I know, but I don't profess to be gifted technologically or artistically. I also had a short Magazine piece due Tuesday, an essay and a large Spanish assignment due this morning, another Computers assignment for tomorrow, and lastly, like icing on the cake, I have two major tests on Friday.
Why do I write all this? Why, so you will shake your heads and click your tongues in sympathy, of course! Actually, I'll confess that I really don't have much else to write about this time around.
*(Hold on. I'm running down to put my laundry in the dryer.)
Life is tough sometimes... especially when you're on your own. Moms help. Everything is better with moms. They're free too. Around here you have to do things yourself and pay for them. God bless mothers.
Work at Phonathon is going pretty well. To be honest, I don't much look forward to going to work, but every time I get there I enjoy myself. When I'm not cordially coercing alumni and parents into donating, I'm chatting with the other callers over the repetitive drone of rings and answering machines. There are some calls that can be quite unsettling, though.
Last night I called a gentlman by the name of Bruce Hoyer. He picked up sounding tired and disinterested, immediately causing me to assume he was either going to politely decline my first ask or just hang up before I got there. As it turns out, his wife was on her deathbed in the next room. She'd been suffering from severe esophageal cancer and her throat was closing up. The man was one of the most kind and sincere people I've talked to, but his heart was just broken. He politefully answered all my questions and explained his situation as I stammered condolences and affirming sighs. Near the end of the call he actually started praying: for his wife, his daughter, and me. Suffice it to say that when it came time to ask for a donation, I asked quickly for any possible support and then hastily explained that he shouldn't feel obligated. Surprisingly, he said he'd think about it and asked me to call him back tonight. I told him I'd pray for his wife; by all means, you can pray too. Her name is Shirley Hoyer. I'll let you know what happens.
Ahem.. so, shifting gears here:
On Saturday I went to New York City again on an honors trip. Why is it significant that it was an honors trip? It's not, actually.
Tangent:
In fact, I find this whole "honors" label to be problematic. There's this silent distinction between 'honors' kids and everyone else. At honors meetings, you run into people who will say things like, "I had no idea that you were an honors student! Wow!" I have yet to figure out what that means, but in the meantime I've felt like the label can produce some form of intellectual snobbery. In reality, I know many people who work harder and arguably seem more intelligent than an "honors" student. I've even heard a few honors kids saying things like, "I know I'm more intelligent than most of my class, so I'm not too worried about this test." Give me a break. Many people asked me why I was going to New York and why they hadn't heard about the trip. Gingerly I explained that the trip was for honors students only, soliciting responses as diverse as a soft sigh and look of admiration or a bold, 'So you're one of them, huh?' The only distinction, as far as I can tell, is a slightly higher SAT score and much more pressure to succeed.
Resuming post:
So this trip was really fun. I spent the day with a few guys that I don't often hang out with, but they're all really great guys. We wandered through Times Square and surrounding area, ate in Little Italy, bought sunglasses in Chinatown, wandered through Soho and NYU, strolled through Central Park, browsed the massive gift shop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and ate at Applebees in Midtown Manhattan. Yours truly was the trip guide. Beats my why you would trust a Canadian for directions in New York City, but I sure enjoyed it!
Friday, after my two tests, is the big spring dance (aka. Spring Fling). On Saturday our floor is hosting a big party (just for the heck of it) open to all students. We're not sure how we'll fit 200 people (or more) in our lounge, but if you're planning on making an appearance (yes, all of you are invited), dress lightly and remember it's "A Black and White Affair."
Okay, it's time to get back to work. I'm sorry if you found this sort of dull, but my striking brilliance and witty charm will only go so far when the fodder for my post is bland. You can really only write well about things you experience, so when you're experiences are limited to computer labs and textbooks, your writing takes the hit.
Alright, take care everyone.
Love you all dearly.
jmb
p.s. I'm growing quite fond of my personal following of nitpicky copy-editors. I didn't look over a single word of this post. Happy pickings!
Anyways, the rain is pattering on the window, birds are chirping gleefully, and some malfunctioning alarm is screaming across the parking lot. I'm writing, in part, to give myself a break from the unfortunate amount of schoolwork I've been subjected to this week. I was about to write a post on Sunday, but I made a list of upcoming assignments/tests instead. As the list grew longer, the Sunday blog faded further into oblivion. Since then I've been chiseling away at the list little-by-little, and I finally have a moment to relax a little.
If your interested in seeing the fruits of my labour, check this out. I've been working on this website for the past few weeks, but it was due on Tuesday.
Music In Toronto -- A Website Designed by Josh Boden
Modest, I know, but I don't profess to be gifted technologically or artistically. I also had a short Magazine piece due Tuesday, an essay and a large Spanish assignment due this morning, another Computers assignment for tomorrow, and lastly, like icing on the cake, I have two major tests on Friday.
Why do I write all this? Why, so you will shake your heads and click your tongues in sympathy, of course! Actually, I'll confess that I really don't have much else to write about this time around.
*(Hold on. I'm running down to put my laundry in the dryer.)
Life is tough sometimes... especially when you're on your own. Moms help. Everything is better with moms. They're free too. Around here you have to do things yourself and pay for them. God bless mothers.
Work at Phonathon is going pretty well. To be honest, I don't much look forward to going to work, but every time I get there I enjoy myself. When I'm not cordially coercing alumni and parents into donating, I'm chatting with the other callers over the repetitive drone of rings and answering machines. There are some calls that can be quite unsettling, though.
Last night I called a gentlman by the name of Bruce Hoyer. He picked up sounding tired and disinterested, immediately causing me to assume he was either going to politely decline my first ask or just hang up before I got there. As it turns out, his wife was on her deathbed in the next room. She'd been suffering from severe esophageal cancer and her throat was closing up. The man was one of the most kind and sincere people I've talked to, but his heart was just broken. He politefully answered all my questions and explained his situation as I stammered condolences and affirming sighs. Near the end of the call he actually started praying: for his wife, his daughter, and me. Suffice it to say that when it came time to ask for a donation, I asked quickly for any possible support and then hastily explained that he shouldn't feel obligated. Surprisingly, he said he'd think about it and asked me to call him back tonight. I told him I'd pray for his wife; by all means, you can pray too. Her name is Shirley Hoyer. I'll let you know what happens.
Ahem.. so, shifting gears here:
On Saturday I went to New York City again on an honors trip. Why is it significant that it was an honors trip? It's not, actually.
Tangent:
In fact, I find this whole "honors" label to be problematic. There's this silent distinction between 'honors' kids and everyone else. At honors meetings, you run into people who will say things like, "I had no idea that you were an honors student! Wow!" I have yet to figure out what that means, but in the meantime I've felt like the label can produce some form of intellectual snobbery. In reality, I know many people who work harder and arguably seem more intelligent than an "honors" student. I've even heard a few honors kids saying things like, "I know I'm more intelligent than most of my class, so I'm not too worried about this test." Give me a break. Many people asked me why I was going to New York and why they hadn't heard about the trip. Gingerly I explained that the trip was for honors students only, soliciting responses as diverse as a soft sigh and look of admiration or a bold, 'So you're one of them, huh?' The only distinction, as far as I can tell, is a slightly higher SAT score and much more pressure to succeed.
Resuming post:
So this trip was really fun. I spent the day with a few guys that I don't often hang out with, but they're all really great guys. We wandered through Times Square and surrounding area, ate in Little Italy, bought sunglasses in Chinatown, wandered through Soho and NYU, strolled through Central Park, browsed the massive gift shop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and ate at Applebees in Midtown Manhattan. Yours truly was the trip guide. Beats my why you would trust a Canadian for directions in New York City, but I sure enjoyed it!
Friday, after my two tests, is the big spring dance (aka. Spring Fling). On Saturday our floor is hosting a big party (just for the heck of it) open to all students. We're not sure how we'll fit 200 people (or more) in our lounge, but if you're planning on making an appearance (yes, all of you are invited), dress lightly and remember it's "A Black and White Affair."
Okay, it's time to get back to work. I'm sorry if you found this sort of dull, but my striking brilliance and witty charm will only go so far when the fodder for my post is bland. You can really only write well about things you experience, so when you're experiences are limited to computer labs and textbooks, your writing takes the hit.
Alright, take care everyone.
Love you all dearly.
jmb
p.s. I'm growing quite fond of my personal following of nitpicky copy-editors. I didn't look over a single word of this post. Happy pickings!
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